ORWIGSBURG — In the playoffs, defense is the key to advancing round after round, and Pottsville has proven that year after year.

The No. 1 seed Crimson Tide proved that yet again on Friday night in the District 11 4A quarterfinals against No. 8 seed Jim Thorpe.

Pottsville held the Olympians to just seven first-half points, as its pressure defense helped it to come away with a dominant 61-27 victory. The Tide will face off with Southern Lehigh in the semifinals on Tuesday night.

“I thought we were physical early and I thought we did a good job of pressuring and getting them out of their rhythm a little bit,” said Pottsville head coach Tyler Heffner. “We also did a great job of rebounding, especially on the offensive end. That’s not something we always do well, either, but we really worked hard in that department tonight and it made a difference.”

Thorpe did its best to keep it close early.

Brody Schrantz’s strong drive down the left side made it a 2-0 lead for JT. The Tide then scored three straight buckets to take a 7-2 lead, but a Cole Lazorick drive and finish made it just a three-point deficit midway through first.

But that’s when the Tide started to roll.

Pottsville’s defense forced 11 Olympian turnovers in the first half, and combined with nine offensive rebounds, fueled a 22-3 run the rest of the way to give the Tide a commanding 29-7 lead at the intermission.

Christian Alvarez and Davey Kunstek combined for 18 first-half points and a bunch of second chance looks in the paint. Thorpe only had three field goals in the first half and lost its most athletic player in Lazorick to an ankle injury early in the second quarter.

“They picked it up and put it into different gear. We missed some shots after battling to get past their initial pressure. We missed some open looks, but most everything we took was contested. And that’s what they do. They force tough shots and that’s a testament to them,” said Jim Thorpe coach Brian O’Donnell.

“They’re just a really good team and they wear you down. And then losing Cole, who did some nice things for us in the first quarter, really put us at a disadvantage and put a dent into our game plan for sure.”

The Olympians did have a positive moment in the ball game as they went on a 10-0 run during the third to cut the lead to 16 (33-17). Schrantz was big for Jim Thorpe on the run scoring eight of the 10, starting the spurt with a three-pointer.

However, after the Tide called a timeout, they came back out in their full court pressure, which led to a 16-3 Pottsville run to end the third to make it a 19-point Tide advantage going into the fourth.

“Yeah, I wasn’t happy there. I thought we took our foot off the gas pedal a little bit. We weren’t fighting through ball screens strong enough and Schrantz did a good job getting into the lane,” said Heffner. “But then we settled down and got back to playing with the intensity that we needed to and on offense we got some good looks.

“Kuntsek had a big night for us. He battled like crazy tonight and did a good job on the boards and at finishing at the rim.”

A few quick Pottsville buckets early in the fourth put the game into the mercy rule at 53-22.

For Thorpe, it was a step in the right direction. After missing districts for three straight seasons and winning a combined six games over the past two seasons prior to this one, the Olympians won 10 games in 2025-26 and got into the 5A tournament.

“We had a nice little run there in the third. We started to hit some shots and gain more confidence. They just have some good firepower and they answered and got good looks and knocked down those open looks,” said O’Donnell.

“But I was proud of the effort tonight and proud of the hard work from our guys to get us here. Any time you’re getting the chance to play more than 22 games; that’s the goal — to make the postseason and go from there.”

LEADING SCORERS ... Kunstek scored a game-high 17 points and also pulled down nine rebounds. Alvarez chipped in with 12 points. For Thorpe, Schrantz was the lone player in double figures with 12.

TIDE D ... The Tide defense was dominant on the night, forcing 17 turnovers and holding Thorpe’s All-Colonial League talent Pierce Gothard to seven points and just two field goals.

JIM THORPE

P. Gothard 2-3-6-7, Kiehl 0-1-2-1, Hoherchek 0-0-0-0, S. Gothard 0-0-0-0, Flyzik 0-0-0-0, Lazorick 1-0-0-2, Levins 1-0-0-3, McElmoyle 0-0-0-0, Schrantz 5-1-1-12, Moore 0-0-0-0, Hodor 0-0-0-0, Antignani 1-0-0-2, Hunadi 0-0-0-0, Reese 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-5-9-27.

POTTSVILLE

Hobbs 2-0-0-5, McGinley 1-0-0-2, Allen 1-1-2-3, Herndon 0-0-0-0, Bainbridge 3-1-1-8, Leskin 0-0-0-0, Alvarez 5-0-2-12, Bowers 3-0-0-9, Kunstek 7-3-4-17, Clews 1-0-0-2, Kimber 1-0-0-3, Viars 0-0-0-0, Oswald 0-0-0-0, Eroh 0-0-0-0, Frantz 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-5-9-61.

Jim Thorpe 5 2 13 7 - 27

Pottsville 15 14 20 12 - 61

Three-pointers: Jim Thorpe - Levins 1, Schrantz 1; Pottsville - Bowers 3, Alvarez 2, Bainbridge 1, Hobbs 1.

Records: Jim Thorpe (10-13); Pottsville (19-7).